[Mother Jones] Last December, the climate summit in Paris offered journalists an
unprecedented opportunity to reframe the global warming story. Climate
reporting used to rest on the tacit understanding that the problem is
overwhelming and intractable. That no longer rings true. While we have a
better understanding than ever of the potential calamity in store, we
finally have a clear vision of a path forward—and momentum for actually
getting there.
To that end, Paris was a turning point for me personally, too: It was
the end of the beginning of my career as an environmental journalist.
This week I'm leaving Mother Jones after five years covering
climate and other green stories. Paris underscored that it's past time
for me to look beyond the borders of the United States. That's why, this
fall, I'm going to undertake a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship.
For at least nine months, I'll move between Kenya, Uganda, and Nigeria
to document how climate change is affecting food security.
I see agriculture in Africa as one of the most important yet
underreported stories about climate change today. It's a fascinating
intersection of science, politics, technology, culture, and all the
other things that make climate such a rich vein of reporting. At that
intersection, the scale of the challenge posed by global warming is
matched only by the scale of opportunity to innovate and adapt. There
are countless stories waiting to be told, featuring a brilliant and
diverse cast of scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians, farmers,
families, and more.
East Africa is already the hungriest place on Earth: One in every
three people live without sufficient access to nutritious food, according to the United Nations.
Crop yields in the region are the lowest on the planet. African farms
have one-tenth the productivity of Western farms on average, and
sub-Saharan Africa is the only place on the planet where per capita food production is actually falling.
Now, climate change threatens to compound those problems by raising
temperatures and disrupting the seasonal rains on which many farmers
depend. An index
produced by the University of Notre Dame ranks 180 of the world's
countries based on their vulnerability to climate change impacts (No. 1,
New Zealand, is the least vulnerable; the United State is ranked No.
11). The best-ranked mainland African country is South Africa, down at
No. 84; Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda rank at No. 147, No. 154, and No.
160, respectively.In other words, these are among the
places that will be hit hardest by climate change. More often than not,
the agricultural sector will experience some of the worst impacts. Emerging research indicates
that climate change could drive down yields of staples such as rice,
wheat, and maize 20 percent by 2050. Worsening and widespread drought
could shorten the growing season in some places by up to 40 percent. Read More

By the end of the century, 60 percent of the breeding habitat for Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) could be too warm and too wet to host colonies, according to a new study in the journal Scientific Reports.
The study's lead researcher, Megan Cimino, combined data from
1981 to 2010 on Antarctic sea ice and ocean temperatures with satellite
imagery and ground observation of penguin colonies. She was able to
piece together how the penguin population has reacted to habitat and
climate fluctuations over the last few decades.
Using that data and recent climate change models, Cimino and her
colleagues were able to make predictions about future habitat for the
Adélie penguins, which inhabit sites all over Antarctica. The news was
not great. By 2060, 30 percent of the animal’s colonies will be in
jeopardy, and 60 percent will be impacted by 2099. Read More

[National Geographic] It was hailed as a radical move when more than 100 Nobel laureates sent a letter
to Greenpeace Wednesday, urging the environmental group to stop
blocking genetically modified foods like golden rice from reaching those
who need it.

But really, the letter (and the press conference scheduled for
Thursday) are just amplifying what most scientists have been saying all
along: GMOs are safe,
important to farmers, and can help solve some of the world’s most
vexing nutrition problems, like preventable blindness, as well as
climate challenges like drought.

Does this mean that GMOs are perfect? No. There are indications that
some GMO crops are creating expensive problems with herbicide-resistant
weeds, according to a recent National Academy of Sciences study (see Scientists Say GMO Foods Are Safe, Public Skepticism Remains), and the public perception that GMOs are uniformly bad is a major hurdle to selling them. And then there’s the whole labeling debate.

Greenpeace calls GMOs "genetic pollution." But if GMOs are to be
completely out of the picture, it might mean there are no vegetables
enriched with cancer-fighting chemicals, drought-resistant corn,
allergen-free peanuts, and bananas that deliver vaccines. Read More

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About LORI TOYE

Author and mystic Lori Toye has written fourteen books dealing with geographic changes in the Earth and how we can respond to these changes to create peace and harmony and advance our own spiritual growth and self-development. Topics include "Building the Seamless Garment - Revealing the Secret Teachings of Ascension and the Golden Cities," a book filled with lessons that focus on the hidden teachings of Ascension - the spiritual and mental process and the spiritual techniques that can free us from the confines of the need to reincarnate. Toye also created the first Earth Changes Map in 1989 delineating future changes to the Earth's geography, as well as the I AM America Atlas, a full color atlas of the I AM America Maps, featuring many new maps and prophecies. Originally published more than 20 years ago before public awareness of the serious environmental issues of Global Warming and Climate Change, Lori has been featured on NBC, FOX, UPN, London's Carlton Television, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.